To mark its centennial, the St. Louis Fed published "100 Years of Service." Read about the birth of the Federal Reserve and how the St. Louis Fed came to be known as the maverick in the Fed system. See how it serves not only financial institutions and the Treasury, but also educators, community development workers, researchers and the public.

Growth around the world is still below trend, but the U.S. is faring better than most countries. Among other topics in this larger-than-usual issue: the decline in labor force participation by youth, and the difficulty in measuring the underground economy.

On Feb. 26, the Center for Household Financial Stability released its first essay in its "Demographics of Wealth" series, which examines the effect of race, education and age on families' wealth levels. The first essay looks at the link between race and wealth accumulation. The essay received both local and national attention and was featured in more than 60 publications, including Bloomberg News, CNNMoney, NBC News, St. Louis Business Journal and The Wall Street Journal. Full coverage can be viewed here.
The full essay and a six-minute video summarizing the essay's highlights are also available.

Ray Boshara, director of the Center for Household Financial Stability, discussed disparities in income and wealth, and offered promising ideas for the St. Louis area in remarks before the
Ferguson Commission on Feb. 23, 2015.
Read more here.

Barry Cynamon, a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and Steven Fazzari, professor of economics at Washington University in St. Louis, were included in a Wall Street Journal article looking at the advance of wealthy households and how they are reshaping housing, clothing, beer and other markets. They said the 2009-2012 spending rebound following the Great Recession was largely driven by the wealthiest 5 percent of U.S. households, because spending by all others fell 1 percent per household during the same time period.

The director and senior economic adviser for the Center for Household Financial Stability co-authored an op-ed in The Washington Post on Dec. 31, 2014. The authors examined the Federal Reserve's recent Survey of Consumer Finances on the wealth and income of African American (and other) families and concluded that, with well-designed economic interventions and some vision among leaders, more financially fragile Americans could thrive.

A few questions can reveal a lot about someone’s financial health. The St. Louis Fed’s Center for Household Financial Stability released its financial health scorecard, which consists of five questions that can help indicate the likelihood of financial success. Read more about the scorecard and its correlation with family net worth in the latest issue of In the Balance.